The Department of Health (DOH) will soon require dentists who want to open their own clinic to undergo a two-year training program that the government hopes will improve dental care around the country.
The compulsory two-year training program will be implemented in 2010.
Beginning that year, dentists will not be eligible to obtain a business license until they complete the training regimen at a medical teaching hospital or clinic as a resident, said a DOH official responsible for medical affairs.
The official, who asked not to be identified, said the training program was proposed because of mounting complaints in recent years over poor-quality care at private clinics.
Some patients complained that they felt pain after having a cavity filled, while others even accused their dentists of being unwilling to take care of problems they created and referring them to a big hospital for further treatment.
“It is OK if the problems occur in a big city, but if in a remote area where only one or two dental clinics exist, the dentists there should show more skill,” the official said.
Taiwanese dentists are currently required to complete six years at medical school, but they do not delve deeply into professional training until the last two to three years of their six-year program.
After that, they can obtain a professional license as long as they pass qualification examinations, the official said, adding that some dentists run dental clinics based on the skills and medical knowledge they picked up during their short period of time in school.
The department believed, therefore, that it was important and necessary for certified dentists to receive advanced training courses when they apply to open their own private practice, the official said.
The training is not required for dentists serving at a clinic run by other practitioners or the dental department of a hospital, he said.
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